Far-Infrared/Submillimeter Astronomical Interferometry with Spaceborne Tether Formations |
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Authors: | Enrico Lorenzini Claudio Bombardelli Mario Cosmo Martin Harwit David Leisawitz Rodger Farley Stephen Rinehart David Quinn David Miller |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Padua, Padova, Italy;(2) Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, USA;(3) 511 H st, SW, Washington, DC 20024, USA;(4) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA;(5) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA |
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Abstract: | Through the continuing development of improved detectors and detector arrays, far-infrared/submillimeter astronomical space
missions have had enormous successes in recent years. Despite these advances, the diffraction-limited angular resolving power
has remained virtually constant. The advent of telescopes with apertures of several meters will improve this capability, but
will still leave image resolution many orders of magnitude poorer than in most other spectral ranges. Here we point out that
the only foreseeable way to improve image quality to rival that of modern optical telescopes will be with interferometers
whose light collectors are connected by tethers. After making the scientific case for high spatial resolution far-infrared/submillimeter
imaging and the use of interferometry as the most immediate way of producing results, we discuss recent advances in dynamic
analysis and control of tethered formations, and argue that the further development and testing of tethers in space is a first
step toward providing improved far-infrared/submillimeter angular resolution and astronomical image quality. |
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Keywords: | Instrumentation: Mi scellaneous Space vehicles: Miscellaneous Techniques: Miscellaneous Astronomical data bases: Miscellaneous |
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